Big day at GPD for Magallanes, Stillwell

GRANTS PASS — Trainer Hector Magallanes punched his ticket into the Fourth of July Firecracker Futurity field not once, but three times after Sunday's trials at Grants Pass Downs.

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Posted Jun. 17, 2013 at 12:16 AM
Updated Jun 17, 2013 at 3:16 AM

Posted Jun. 17, 2013 at 12:16 AM
Updated Jun 17, 2013 at 3:16 AM

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GRANTS PASS — Trainer Hector Magallanes punched his ticket into the Fourth of July Firecracker Futurity field not once, but three times after Sunday's trials at Grants Pass Downs.

His quarter horses won all three of the trials, with two of them claiming three of the fastest times. In the fifth and final trial, Eagle B Gone recorded the fastest time of 17.694 seconds. In the fourth race, Angel Eyez clocked the third fastest (17.822). Reel Fast won the opening trial.

Trainer Scott Raley had two horses qualify, including the second-fastest finisher, Thinkin of Girls. The other was Ez Red Freckles.

The eight fastest out of a field of 21 horses qualify for the Firecracker Futurity, GPD's biggest race of the season. The rest of the field includes Cm Undertainfluence, My Wynema and Avatarr.

Jockey Troy Stillwell began the day on a roll, registering victories in the first four races, two of which were atop Magallanes' horses — Reel Fast and Angel Eyez in the third and fourth events.

Stillwell's four wins gave him six total at GPD after two days of competition. Second-place jockey Luis Gonzalez nabbed his fourth victory of the weekend in the fifth race and Ruben Camacho won the final two races of the day to bring his total to three.

Camacho's wins came at the helm of Chocolate Starr — trained by Mary Boyle of Grants Pass — and Formula One Gold in the seventh and eighth races.

Trainer David Hoover and owner Anthony Hoover of Grants Pass saw their prize Boundary Lane kick off the day with a victory.

In the fifth race, Freddy Ibarra was thrown from his horse and broke his left leg. Pablo Madrical was bucked from his horse in the same race but sustained no serious injuries.

On a per race basis, the handle at Grants Pass Downs went up 38 percent compared to last season on opening weekend.

WALLA WALLA 6, MEDFORD 5 — Medford suffered through more late-game issues as Walla Walla tallied five runs in the top of the ninth inning to hand the Rogues their fourth straight loss at Harry & David Field.

The Rogues (9-7, 4-7 West Coast League) clung to a 2-1 lead heading into the ninth inning, when the Sweets put five runs on the board. Caleb Palensky and Corey Wynant had run-scoring singles to help the Rogues respond with three runs in the bottom of the frame.

Rogues starter Bret DeRooy was solid over eight innings, allowing only one earned run on four hits and a walk and striking out six. Chad Hockin spelled DeRooy in the ninth and gave up five runs — four of which were earned.

Both Palensky and Jake Whistler went 2-for-4 for the Rogues, who will try to avoid a sweep by the Sweets today at 6:35 p.m.

MEDFORD MUSTANGS 11, EAST COUNTY KNIGHTS 8 — At Salem, Charlie Walker went 3-for-6 with four RBIs, including a three-run home run in the second inning, and the Mustangs finished with a season-high 17 hits and 11 runs to capture third place at the six-team Willamette Classic.

David Crofton was 4-for-5 with three runs scored, Nate Walker 3-for-6, Austin Zavala 2-for-5 with two runs and Isaiah Luzny 2-for-5 for Medford (5-4), which led 11-5 before the Knights tacked on three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.